1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toy stairways and, more particularly, is directed to toy stairways for use with a spring toy that can be disassembled and packaged into a compact package.
2. Description of the Invention Background
Perhaps one of the most ubiquitous child's toys has been a spring toy consisting of a elongated steel band wound in a circular fashion to form a coil. This toy achieved its popularity largely under the brand name Slinky.TM. shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,306 issued on Sep. 19, 1978. The Slinky's popularity has been associated with all generations. The play value of this toy resides in its many unique features--when holding the toy with one end in one hand and the other end in another hand the coils will unravel in the direction of the lower hand when one hand is raised or lowered. The movement conveys the feeling of a living creature moving in ones hand. Additionally, the spring toy creates an interesting visual pattern and radiates a sound while it moves, further capturing the interest of and mesmerizing the user.
One of the spring toy's most significant play values, however, is its unique ability to "walk" down a stairway or incline when a user mechanically starts the motion of the toy by advancing one of the top coils of the toy to the next lower level. The momentum of these top coils carries through to the remaining coils, causing them to follow the top coils in turn to the next lower level, and in the process appearing to "walk" down to the next lower level. At this lower level, the momentum of the coils which are now on top causes them to flip over and fall to the next further lower level, thus repeating the motion. This "walking" movement continues until the toy reaches the bottom of the stairway or incline.
However, a large percentage of the nation's households lack a stairway of sufficient length to effectuate the "walking" movement, thus eliminating one of the spring toy's more significant play values. For instance, many people live in apartments located within apartment buildings. Such apartments typically do not have stairs inside the apartment, and although there may be exit stairs in the building, these stairs may be inappropriate for play because these stairs are outside of the apartment, are typically unattractive and unpleasant play areas, and a child playing on such stairs would likely require adult supervision. Another large percentage of the population lives in houses which also do not have stairs, for instance one-story houses with no basement, common in coastal and rural areas and present everywhere.
Even in households where there are stairs present, such stairs may not be ideal for playing with the spring toy. Parents may not want children playing around stairways without adult supervision, for fear that toys would be left on the stairway, or that the children could potentially fall down the stairs. Furthermore, a standard stairway may not be the most effective means of effectuating the "walking" action. The standard ratio of the rise of the stairs to the run of the stairs in a typical stairway may not promote good "walking" action. Also, carpeted stairs, common in many homes, impair the "walking" action of the spring toy.
In such situations where there are either no stairs available, or the stairs available are ineffective, the user can construct a simulated stairway with a stack of books or similar objects. This requires a large number of books to create enough steps for good "walking" action. Finding enough books or similar objects is usually a problem and thus limits the play value of the toy. An inclined plane can also be used to effectuate the "walking" action. A wooden board (for instance, about 36 inches long and 6 to 8 inches wide) can be elevated at one end and used as an incline to "walk" the toy down. However, common boards do not work well because the spring toy will slide on it. Therefore, a board with a non-slip surface is preferred. While such boards may be fabricated or may be available at a building supply center, they are not commonly found around the home.
Thus, there is a need for a practical, convenient and safer way of utilizing the play value of the "walking" feature of the spring toy. There is a need for a toy stairway designed to facilitate the "walking" motion of the spring toy.
However, such a toy stairway will occupy significantly more space than the spring toy itself. This reduces the ability to ship, store and market such a toy stairway in a retail store. In today's competitive retail sales market, there is a premium on shelf space, storage space and shipping capacity at every level of the distribution chain. Products which are bulky and sell for a relatively low sales price cannot compete with smaller, higher-profit products. This applies to the toy stairway, where the product logically should not have a retail cost significantly greater than the spring toy itself, yet the final usable configuration may occupy ten times the space of the spring toy. Therefore, there is a need for a toy stairway which can be packaged in a small carton along with the spring toy for shipping, storing, marketing and merchandising purposes. The size of a toy stairway also may be a problem in small homes where storage space is not prevalent. Thus, there is a further need for a toy stairway which can be disassembled and packaged in a small carton along with the spring toy for storage after play.
It is important, however, that a toy stairway designed for use with a spring toy which can be packaged in a small, compact package for merchandising and storage purposes be easy and quick to put together. Few qualities of a toy discourage play by a youngster more than difficulty of assembly. Thus, there is a still further need for a toy stairway that can be easily assembled.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a toy stairway that will facilitate the "walking" motion of the spring toy, that can be packaged in a small carton along with the spring toy for shipping, merchandising and storage benefits, and that can be easily assembled. In addition to those features, other details, objects, and advantages will become apparent as the following detailed description of the present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.